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Char Siu Recipe

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Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork Recipe)

It’s incredibly hard to turn down a proper Char Siu (叉燒) / Cha Shao. For those of you who live in big metropolises with a China Town nearby, you have your pick of Char Siu – over rice, over ramen, in a sandwich, along side veggies, in a bun, stir-fried with rice, or even hanging up in a window. There are plenty, plenty of ways to enjoy or cook this little bit of heaven.

I am not saying this is the best Char Siu recipe outside China, but it can definitely hold it’s own and is deliciously Cantonese without a ton of salt. You don’t have to believe me. Make the recipe for yourself.

What I have learned over the years is that the majority of Char Siu recipes “seem” to have some type of hoisin, soy sauce, five-spice powder (not the good kind either), honey, garlic, ginger, rice wine-esk flavorings. Now reading and researching dozens of Char Siu (叉燒) recipes I have been able to rule out ingredients like ketchup, chicken stock / powder, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and citrus – these are just odd. It also does not seem to flow with the history of a Cantonese BBQ pork.

Char Siu Ingredients That Seem 100% Authentic

  • Red yeast wine like Shaohsing for it’s unique salty taste and red coloring
  • Maltose for the glaze (brown sugar will do)
  • Soy sauce
  • Fermented red bean curd (ding, ding, ding – key ingredient!)
  • Hoisin
  • Star anise

I judge these based on what was “readily” available and affordable in old China and what would have been brought over during those earlier years in America. What would have been produced? I am also going off of dozens of recipes I found online, some of which were Chinese food bloggers. Also the taste/color largely comes from yeasty things like rice wine or fermented red bean curd.

 

How to Make Char Siu

  1. There should be soy sauce to some level. It was staple then and still is now.
  2. A sugary glaze made from brown sugar or maltose.
  3. Hoisin which is sweet potato and spices – a prolific crop in Asia. It adds a deep, robust sweetness.
  4. Fermented red bean curd has been made for many, many years. It has a natural red dye to it which is imparted into the pork with the help of the ethanol/wine that it sits in.
  5. Star anise or even some rose water extract
  6. Some sort of cooked off alcohol (e.g. Shao Shing), The salts help to break the proteins down which again concentrates the flavors.
  7. Pork butt (or shoulder) seems to be the consensus among cooks for the fat content. It makes it juicy and using just a tenderloin tends to dry out during the grilling or broiling. I’m a butt person myself. Hey now!
  8. No matter what, overnight in the marinade is mandatory. A couple hours won’t cut it.

I don’t mention food coloring or red dye 40 since that seems to be a more modern ingredient and something nobody needs. I am also convinced there is no place for ketchup, Japanese mirin, a ton of aromatics, sesame oil, oyster sauce, Chinese five-spice or meat stock. It seems way too much especially when pairing this recipe up with other ingredients / dishes.

char siu

Remember, I am making this char siu as close to authentic as possible. Without further ado…my #1 ABC Golden Happy Lucky Chinese BBQ Red Pork Recipe. If you can read that, then you can easily make this recipe.

Char Siu Recipe

  • 2 lb. of pork butt or shoulder cut into 1.5 inch thick slices / chunks
  • 1 c. Shao Hsing wine
  • 3/4 c. Tamari gluten-free light-soy
  • 1/4 c. Hoisin (make sure it has sweet potato puree in it and not the cheap stuff)
  • 1/3 c. fermented red bean curd (mostly the liquid)
  • 1/2 c. dark sugar (with molasses)
  • 3 minced garlic cloves
  • 2 tbl. minced/zested ginger
  • 4 crushed star anise pods
  1. Stir all ingredients together from above.
  2. Boil it for 1 minute and let cool to room temperature.
  3. Put the pork into the marinade overnight (around 12 hours).

Broiling Method:

  1. Turn the gas broiler on.
  2. Put the pork about 4 inches below the fire.
  3. Turn every 2 minutes for 10-15 minutes.
  4. Pull and rest the meat for a few minutes.

Grill Method:

  1. Bring the heat up to 400ºF
  2. Grill 5 minutes on each side. Repeat.
  3. Remove from heat and rest for 3-4 minutes.

It should look exactly like the photo in this recipe. I did not edit the color of the photo in anyway.

This is based on you butchering the butt/shoulder with 2 inch thick pieces.
I don’t cook according to weight, I cook according the distance to the center of the meat.

I cut the pork along the grain in nice long 1.5 ” thick x 4″ long x 4″ wide strips.

Why these ingredients?

  1. I use Shaoxing wine since it has a deep fermented, yeasty, rice flavor. It also has a nice salty and caramel flavor to it once you cook the alcohol off.
  2. Dark sugar has molasses which also adds this deep, sweet, kinda burnt cane flavor.
  3. Garlic and ginger are there to add a pungent, healthy zest to the marinade. Nothing more is needed. I tested scallions but they were buried under the other tastes.
  4. Hoisin adds a fantastic complex sweetness and starch to the marinade due to the sweet potato.
  5. The red bean curd adds color, salt and another nice dose of yeast to flavor the meat.
  6. Homemade Chinese 5-spice still seems to be a hit or miss. I omit it. I think that it is simply just too many flavors. I have Chinese recipes which are in both camps. I do add some crushed star anise pods though. That gives it a delicate licorice (don’t cringe) floral note.

Sure you can put plenty of “things” in your Char Siu recipe but I opted for a minimal approach. Something healthier while still keeping it authentically Cantonese and incredibly delicious and fragrant.

Please send me your comments from your own experience making this mouth watering BBQ red pork.

20 thoughts on “Char Siu Recipe”

  1. You don’t need rose water as you should be able to find rose wine (mui-Kwai-Lo) in China Town liquor store, or grocery store. It is transparent color.

    1. I use very little rose water. I was thinking about using some Chinese rose wine but I already have plenty of salt from the Shao Xing which is why I went with a dash of the water. Have you had good luck with the rose wine?

    1. Nope. Way too dry. Aim for a shoulder or butt. That way the fat can drip through the meat and keep it moist.

  3. Hi, it is nice that you put a lot of thought and research into this recipe. So many recipes are too simple or inaccurate and lazy.

    I was wondering about the rose water; this ingredient surprised me and, whereas you justified your other ingredients, you didn’t explain how you arrived at this one. It’s intriguing me.

    1. I like a little floral note that the compliment well with the star anise. I read this long ago that sometimes it was used so I tried it and it was quite nice..remember..just a tiny splash.

      1. i haven’t tried cooking this yet. just wanted to say try swapping out the rose water for bamboo or lotus water. boil some lotus root for lotus water, bamboo chutes for bam water.

        1. Interesting idea. What I like about rose water is the intensity of just a tiny spritz. I’ll experiment with lotus water and see how it goes. Thanks.

  4. Has anyone tried to cook the pork in an oven? Any recommendations on temperatures setting and cooking time?
    Thanks,

    d

    1. I have done the pork in the oven many times. It’s a careful juggle on broil with me rotating it every 1-2 minutes for about 10-12 minutes.

  5. Pretty good recipe. I agree to leave out the 5 Spice, it can really overpower the whole dish. But there is one spice that you DO need to truly make it authentic. After trying to find chef #1 that can speak good enough english & #2 would agree to tell me, I discovered it is Stare Anise
    Also very strong but key to the recipe. Also, one other important thing to mention is that if you sub maltose with brown sugar, make sure it is dark brown sugar and if you use the maltose it is better to heat the ingredients up in a wok or pan first. I prefer the latter. It gives it that extra sticky char when you cook it. One other side note is the for coloring. It only adds to the aesthetics of the dish an I you insist on adding some coloring, stay away from #40 Red dye as it is known to be harmful. Instead, you can use natural dye from beets I you can find it. It still want b as red bull will definitely add more color.

    1. Thanks. Since writing this post I have been able to talk to many other bloggers and a couple cooks in China Town over here in NYC. Anise is a decent aromatic and can definitely be used…but sparingly.

      Again, the must haves for this Chinese red pork is the Wangzhihe Fermented Traditional Bean Curd. For an authentic taste, you simply can’t substitute anything.

      And to your point, maltose would be great if you can find it. I can pick it up from beer brewing stores.

    1. Pork Butt. If that is unavail. then shoulder will work as well. You want that bit of marbling.

  7. Hi,
    Just had a go a this,
    all I can say is I think you are right about the fermented red bean curd Wow I stuck to your recipe up till the point of glazing the pork whilst cooking what I did was drain the pork and boil the marinade for about 20 min and add a 3/4 cup of brown sugar and I used this to baste the pork.

    Bloody heel is this not the best pork or what.

    Thanks for shearing

    Cheers

    Scott

    1. Glad you liked it and it worked for you. You could probably experiment with a few ways to cook this. Clearly an open BBQ would be ideal. Cheers!

    1. A little over 2 lbs. of pork butt (or shoulder). You need to cut it in proper strips and then over it with the marinate. If the strips are too thick they end up drying out. If they are too thin, they become too salty.

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